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What we know (and don't know) about vitamins, diet and health · What we know (and don't know) about vitamins, diet and health 1 May 2014, by Matt Shipman Credit: Dana Payne, via

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Page 1: What we know (and don't know) about vitamins, diet and health · What we know (and don't know) about vitamins, diet and health 1 May 2014, by Matt Shipman Credit: Dana Payne, via

What we know (and don't know) aboutvitamins, diet and health1 May 2014, by Matt Shipman

Credit: Dana Payne, via Wikimedia Commons

Here's the short version: your kid probably doesn'tneed a daily vitamin, and there is no magicingredient in food that will keep you healthy.

When I told folks that I was going to start writing aseries of posts that addressed scientific questionsabout food, I was inundated with questions peoplewanted me to address. Among the most commonquestions were those that dealt with vitamins (arethey important?) and "eat for health" diet plans (dothey work?). So I decided to tackle those questionsfirst.

One friend asked about the pros and cons ofchildren getting their vitamins and minerals fromone-a-day vitamins, instead of from food.

"There is no evidence that kids benefit from dietarysupplements," says Sarah Ash, a professor ofnutrition at NC State. "Even finicky eaters will getthe nutrition they need in the long run, as long asyou're presenting them with healthy options. If all akid eats is junk, that's a different story. But if yourkids eat nothing but strawberries for a few days,don't worry. Over time it averages out.

"Don't stress about it," Ash says. "You don't want toturn meal time into a battleground."

Most adults probably don't need dietarysupplements either, though there are exceptions.

"For example, people over 50 or 60 would likelybenefit from a vitamin B12 supplement," Ash says."That's because as we get older, we tend toproduce less stomach acid. And that acid isnecessary to free the B12 from the proteins it'sbound to in our food."

This leads to the second question I heard a lot:Regardless of whether we take dietarysupplements, are there certain foods that can boostour immune systems or prevent chronic disease?Not really. The answer is complicated, becausefood itself is incredibly complex.

Studies that have evaluated the impact of individualdietary components – such as specific vitamins –have been largely disappointing, Ash says.

"But larger food patterns do sometimes seem to belinked to better health," Ash says, "such as theMediterranean diet, which includes lots ofmonounsaturated fats (like olive oil, nuts andseeds), legumes (such as beans and lentils),seafood, some dairy, and smaller amounts ofmeats.

"However, we don't understand precisely what theformula is that leads to better health," Ash says."We may never know, beyond the idea that varietyand moderation are important."

In short, despite whatever the celebrity diet du jourmay say, eating a well-balanced diet is still the wayto go.

Provided by North Carolina State University

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APA citation: What we know (and don't know) about vitamins, diet and health (2014, May 1) retrieved 1August 2018 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-05-dont-vitamins-diet-health.html

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